Men & Women Relax


You thought it happens only to you. After a killer day at work, you are trying to cook a healthy dinner, spend quality time with the little ones and unwind by describing your grueling day to your husband. He, meanwhile, is busy checking email on the laptop, refusing to look up, or is glued to the TV. Don't take it personally. It's a hard-wired gender trait. Women need to talk through their stress; men need to be left alone, and finds a US study of married couples with young children. A healthy relationship

Active kids are happier kids

Is your child entering middle school? Sign her up for a sport now. A study of nearly 4,600 middle school students found that youngsters who got even the bare minimum of exercise-20 minutes at least three times a week-had fewer symptoms of depression than those who were less active. The more they moved, the happier they were.

He recommends boosting physical activity as a first line of defense.


You're pregnant and you want a drink. Just a few sips of beer at a dear friend's B-day party. Didn't the doctor say a tiny drink couldn't hurt?

Reconsider those reassuring words. Researchers are discovering that having even a fraction of a peg at any point during your pregnancy can cause brain damage and affect your baby's development. Alcohol passes directly through your placenta to your baby, where it can severely affect growth and impair learning, memory, attention span, and social behavior.

The damaging evidence: Mild intellectual and behavioral problems were seen in 14-year-olds whose mothers had consumed alcohol in any amount, reports a Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic study of 763 babies whose moms were asked about their alcohol consumption at each trimester. The study also showed that even small amounts of alcohol could affect a child's growth and development-right into adolescence.